Killzone, when it first appeared, was supposed to be Sony’s answer to the Halo franchise. That didn’t quite work out. But, Guerrilla Games pretty well shut up the naysayers with Killzone 2, which showed the world just how epic a modern sci-fi shooter could be, and what addictive fun could be had with PlayStation multiplayer.

Killzone 3 picks up where its predecessor left off, with the Helghan political machine in disarray and humanity struggling to survive in a brutal war.

How does it stack up?

The story: As with most shooters, Killzone 3 is pretty light on story (though the characterization is improved tremendously), but at least what’s there is entertaining. Visari, the Helghast dictator, is lying dead at your feet. Rico — that putz — went against orders and put the dog down. As a result, the aforementioned Helghan political machine has devolved into bickering, power plays, scheming and general American Congress-like behavior. You, as Tomas ‘Sev’ Sevchenko, alongside the more-bearable Rico, aren’t so much trying to win as survive and stop the Helghan fleet from making Earth go boom. Now, get shooting.

The graphics: It’s a great looking game. Just fantastic. The characters (aside from some weird lip-synching problems), the animations, the guns and the explosions look superb. Though I don’t think there was ever much of a question about that.

While Killzone’s environments frequently mimic the industrial, burned-out-city look of seemingly every other shooter, it feels much more open, and it’s got a thankfully expanded color palette and more varied locales (including a mandatory snow level). There are still plenty of washed-out tones, but none of it is as, frankly, oppressive as some other titles.

The gameplay: If you played Killzone 2, then you can hop right into Killzone 3. The gameplay, excepting a few tweaks, is the same — though that’s not a complaint. KZ2‘s gameplay marked a high point for the series, and there wasn’t any reason to go monkeying with the formula.

What Killzone 3 does do, however, is ratchet up the intensity about a million-fold. The firefights are brutal and frequent and, well, a bit stressful. As Destructoid wrote in its review, the player is practically harassed by the enemy over the course of the campaign. (And there are times where the game just feels cheap in its manner of murdering you.)

It also feels faster than Killzone 2, which, of course, adds to that feeling of intensity.

But, while the campaign is far and away better than in 2008, it still feels a little lackluster. And, it’s shorter than I’d like. That’s not to say it isn’t a blast — it is — but the cheap deaths at the hands of the Helghast and some weird mid-mission loading issues (which, for me, led to an audio problem where literally EVERYTHING was said twice) bummed me out.

The multiplayer: This is the real reason to buy Killzone 3. This is arguably the most satisfying multiplayer on the market. Period.

There’s a local co-op mode (a first for the series, and a welcome one at that), a ‘Botzone’ that substitutes bots for human enemies (a feature I’ve missed since Perfect Dark), and then the three online mode: Guerilla Warfare, Warzone, and Operations.

Guerilla Warfare is your team deathmatch. Warzone is a mission-based game. And Operations, a new one, has one team trying to take over the other team’s base.

There are also five classes to choose from: Marksman, Engineer, Field Medic, Tactician, and Infiltrator. Each one has its own abilities and perks, like a disguise for the Infiltrator so he can (duh) infiltrate the enemy lines.

Now, all of that is pretty standard fare, but the way Killzone 3 handles those classes and leveling up is just perfect. Again, it’s about the balance. Each class feels right — and can be upgraded or personalized by using unlock points gained by achieving new levels.

The audio: The score is suitably epic and moving. The dialog between ISA soldiers, while not as swear-heavy as Killzone 2, is still gritty enough to sound real. And the voice actors all –even Rico — sound like human beings, even though Sev himself does a bit too much Jake Gyllenhaal-ing. The real star of the show, however, is Malcom McDowell as Jordan Stahl. He’s absolutely phenominal, and, strangely, makes you almost kinda sorta think the Helghast aren’t the worst bad guys ever. They’re pretty likeable. If they won, I’d be OK with that.

Final thoughts: I think I’ve babbled enough. Go buy the game. It’s fantastic, and the multiplayer is the most satisfying you’ll find anywhere. You hear that, Activision?

Final Grade: A

Killzone 3 is rated M for Mature and is available now for the PlayStation 3.